The present invention provides a network-based air travel reservation system and method for making roundtrip air flight reservations using One Way Combinable fares (“OWC fares”). The invention includes a system and method allowing an end-user to make internet online air flight reservations for air travel with guaranteed pricing using OWC fares.
More specifically, for the end-user the present invention provides a method for rapidly responding to the end-user's travel itinerary request by successfully returning all pricing solutions for the requested itinerary through the use of parallel pricing processes launched on sub-itineraries (e.g., an outbound segment and a return inbound segment) of the itinerary request. Further, in the invention, all of returned pricing solutions will be fully guaranteed regarding international pricing standards (IATA regulation) through the use of the One Way Combinable fares.
The invention provides the end-user with an integrated system allowing interactive creation and pricing of a complete international trip solution (i.e., journey solution) through presentation of individual basic pricing solutions covering each of the outbound and return inbound segment of the end-user's requested itinerary, so that the sum of the pricing for each end-user selected basic pricing solution will be a total price amount for the entire trip with the total price amount being IATA regulation compliant.
For a travel provider, the invention includes techniques to interactively manage the One Way Combinable fares including the transformation of standard fares into the One Way Combinable fares which can be priced independently and combined together in order to form guaranteed complex priced solutions.
The invention provides the travel provider with a system that quickly and efficiently allows the travel provider to respond to the end-user's travel itinerary request with a proposal that includes a full complex pricing solution set by computing and displaying only a basic part of the full solutions set.